EMU Heads to Muncie for Another MAC West Tilt

Men's Basketball at Ball State
Date	Tuesday, Feb. 21 \| 7 p.m.
Venue	Muncie, Ind. \| John E. Worthen Arena (11,500)
Game Notes	EMU Game Notes \| BSU Game Notes
Live Stats	Fan Stats \| Media Stats
Watch	ESPN 3
Listen	89.1 FM WEMU
Twitter	@EMUHoops \| @EMUAthletics

MUNCIE, Ind. (EMUEagles.com) -- After losing six in a row, the Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team travels to Muncie, Ind. to square off with Mid-American Conference West Division leading Ball State University, Tuesday night, Feb. 21. The Eagles (13-14, 5-9 MAC) head to John E. Worthen Arena in search of revenge from an 88-80 loss at home against the Cardinals (17-10, 8-6 MAC) earlier this season, Jan. 24.

The Green and White continue play after losing its sixth game in a row, Saturday, Feb. 18, when EMU traveled to MAC West foe Western Michigan. The Eagles were knocked off, 88-80, inside University Arena, as Western was hot from the floor, shooting over 50 percent from the field and 44.4 percent from beyond the arc.

The Cardinals return to the hardwood following a tightly contested game at Central Michigan, Feb. 18. BSU won its second-straight overtime game Saturday afternoon, 109-100, in a high scoring affair at McGuirk Arena.

FINDING THE GAME AT HOME: The Eastern Michigan versus Ball State matchup will have both audio and video on Tuesday night. Fans can dial into 89.1 FM or listen over the internet at WEMU.org to hear the smooth sounds of veteran play-by-play voice, Chad Bush. Joining Bush on the call this season will be analyst Assistant Athletic Media Relations Director Sean Hostetter. Coverage on 89.1 WEMU will begin 10 minutes prior to the tip of each game this year.

For those wishing to watch the Eagles' game live, tune into ESPN3, where Joel Goddett will call the BSU versus EMU contest. David Eha will join Monaco on the broadcast to provide analysis. Fans can also stream the game on their WatchESPN app as well.

ALL-TIME VERSUS BALL STATE: The Eagles trail in the series with Ball State by an 18-game margin, at a tally of 42-60. Earlier this season, the Cardinals got the best of EMU, 88-80, inside the Convocation Center, Jan. 24.

In that game, Ray Lee had a big game, scoring 24 points, and sinking four three pointers. It was the Detroit, Mich. native's eighth game notching 20-or-more points. Tim Bond stuffed the stat sheet by tallying 17 points, five assists, four steals, and a block. Ty Toney kicked in 14 points, four rebounds, four assists, and a pair of thefts, while Baylee Steele was strong defensively, recording a career-best five blocks in the game.

LIKELY LOOK FOR THE CARDINALS...

#	Name	Pos.	Cl.	Ht.	Wt.	ppg	rpg	apg	Hometown-Previous School
2	Tayler Persons	G	Jr.-So.	6-3	220	15.8	3.7	5.2	Kokomo, Ind.-Northern Kentucky
15	Franko House	F	Sr.-Sr.	6-6	248	13.0	6.5	2.3	Elkhart, Ind.-Concord
33	Ryan Weber	G/F	Sr.-Sr.	6-6	228	9.6	2.9	1.6	Indianapolis, Ind.-Roncalli
34	Sean Sellers	G/F	Jr.-Jr.	6-6	216	9.3	2.9	1.3	Greensburg, Ind.-Greensburg
41	Trey Moses	C	So.-So.	6-9	245	9.9	8.8	2.4	Louisville, Ky.-Eastern

LAST TIME OUT: Eastern Michigan traveled to Western Michigan for a MAC West contest with the Broncos. WMU was able to get the best of the Eagles, dropping them, 88-80, at University Arena Saturday afternoon, Feb. 18.

Playing in his 129th career game in an EMU uniform, Ray Lee became the program's all-time leader in games played, surpassing Jamell Harris (2009-13). Lee returned to his previous form with his best game since Jan. 24 with a 27-point performance on 10-for-17 shooting. The total was Lee's most since the season-opener in double-overtime at Pittsburgh, Nov. 11, 2016. Ty Toney and James Thompson IV were the only other Eagles in double figures with 13 points apiece, respectively. For the game, EMU shot above 50 percent for just the third time in conference play, but struggled from the free throw line going 12-of-21.

CARDINAL REPORT: The Ball State Cardinals have had their ups and downs this season, but have won their last two games in MAC play with overtime victories on the road. Since beginning MAC play, Ball State has been much of the same, winning in spurts and losing in spurts. Tayler Persons leads the Ball State offense, scoring 15.8 points per game, while Franko House adds 13 points per contest. Persons is also one of the best distributors in the conference, dishing out 5.2 assists per game, which is the second best average in the league. The Cardinals' center, Trey Moses, has been a spark for Ball State, scoring nearly 10 points per game, but also pulling down a team-high 8.8 rebounds per contest, good for fourth in the MAC. BSU's offense works efficiently, scoring at a 46.9 percent clip, third-best in the league, while their 37.8 three point shooting percentage marks the third-highest in the MAC as well.

IT TAKES MORE THAN OFFENSE: Despite scoring 80 points and shooting at a 58.2 percent clip, the EMU squad was unable to defeat Western Michigan in an 88-80 setback at WMU. That shooting percentage matched the Eagles' top single game field goal percentage since starting Mid-American Conference play. They also shot at that mark in their 81-53 victory over Bowling Green, Jan. 10.

THE MUNCIE MAN: Although winning on the road is no easy task in college basketball, EMU Head Coach Rob Murphy has made a habit of winning in Muncie, Ind. In fact, Murphy is 4-1 when taking on Ball State inside of John E. Worthen Arena. In his first year, Murphy led the eventual MAC West Champion Eagles to Muncie and saw senior Antonio Green raise for a three-pointer with a tie score. The Inkster, Mich. native connected on the longball with just 1.5 seconds on the clock to give the Eagles a three-point, 51-48 victory.

LEE THE LONGEST TENURED: With the game played at Western Michigan, Feb. 18, EMU redshirt senior Ray Lee became the longest tenured Eagle in Eastern Michigan history. Lee recorded his 129th game played donning the Green and White, surpassing Jamell Harris' (2009-13) 128 games played for EMU.

TROUBLES AT THE STRIPE: Despite having the second-best team free throw percentage in the Mid-American Conference (73.2 percent) and being on pace to set a new EMU single season record for free throw percentage, the Eagles have struggled at the charity stripe as of late. Over the last six games at the line, the Green and White own a free throw percentage of just 63.2 percent. In fact, Eastern Michigan has not shot better than 68.4 percent from the free throw line in that span, despite connecting on 75 percent-or-better of its free throws on 13 separate occasions this year.

TIM B, PLAYING D: After being named to the All-MAC Defensive Team a season ago, EMU junior guard Tim Bond has continued to prove why he is such a hot defensive commodity through the 2016-17 season. The Baltimore, Md. native is currently leading the Mid-American Conference in steals with 59 and an average of 2.2 per game. Last year, Bond racked up 67 steals, which ranked third all-time in a single season. Bond is on pace to equal that total this season. Currently, the 6-foot-7 guard has amassed 143 steals in almost three seasons, which ranks eighth in the EMU career record book.

It's not just Bond's ability to pick the opponent's pocket that shows his defensive prowess. He is also a stellar shot blocker. With 20 blocks this year, the junior has racked up 62 blocks in his career, a number that puts him just seven blocks away from the EMU career top-10.

IN RARE COMPANY: Earlier this year James Thompson IV became just the 26th EMU student-athlete to record 500-or-more rebounds in a career. The sophomore currently has 632 career rebounds and sits at No. 13 on the all-time list. Thompson is on pace to pull down 334 rebounds this season. That number, coupled with his 352 from a year ago, would give him 686, which would rank 11th in EMU history.

In addition to his rebounding, Thompson is on his way to becoming the 30th player to record 1,000 career points in EMU history. The Baton Rouge, La. native currently has 863 career points. He is one of just 13 student-athletes at EMU to notch 800 points and 600 rebounds in a career.

WILLIE TAKES IT DOWNTOWN: Senior guard Willie Mangum IV is on pace to have one of the best three-point shooting seasons in Eastern Michigan history. Averaging nearly three three-point makes per game, Mangum is on pace to knock down 87 triples. That number would be the second most in EMU single season history. Additionally, the Richmond, Va. native needs to connect on just seven more long balls to enter the EMU top-10 for career three-point field goal makes. He currently has 138 three pointers in his two seasons at Eastern.

CHECK OUT THIS CREW: Eastern Michigan has seen the offensive numbers pick up this season and a large part of that outburst has to do with the fact that EMU has five of the top-100 all-time scorers in EMU history on the roster. Ray Lee is fifth all-time with 1,729 points, while James Thompson IV comes in tied at 40th with 863 points. Willie Mangum IV's 812 points is good for 47th, while Tim Bond is tied for 67th with 691 points and Ty Toney's 605 is good for the 82nd-most points scored in a career.

WHERE THEY STAND: If the 2017 Mid-American Conference Men's Basketball Tournament were to start today, the Eagles would hold the No. 10 overall seed. With a 5-9 record in Mid-American Conference play, the Green and White would be in a tie with Bowling Green for the 10th overall seed. With a 28-point victory over the MAC East opponent, the Eagles own the tiebreaker and would get the nod for the 10th spot. If the current standings hold true until the end of the season, the Eagles would be heading to Toledo for a First Round MAC Tournament game, Monday, March 6, in Toledo, Ohio.

ON THE HORIZON: Following their Tuesday contest with Ball State, the Eagles continue Mid-American Conference action at home, Saturday, Feb. 25. Eastern Michigan will host Northern Illinois in the first half of a doubleheader at the Convocation Center. The men's team will take on NIU at noon, while the women will square off with the Huskies at 2:30 p.m.

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Players Mentioned

Tim Bond

Ray Lee

Willie Mangum IV

Baylee Steele

James Thompson IV

Ty Toney

Eastern Michigan Athletics